


Teaching and Other Worries

by Sourlander



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: 2017roguerobin, Alternate Universe - High School, Finn likes maths, Finn-centric, High School, JediFest, M/M, Stormpilot, poefinn, roguerobin, roguerobin001
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-20 15:57:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9499241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sourlander/pseuds/Sourlander
Summary: Finn loves being a teacher and he loves working with young people. His life gets disrupted when a beautiful substitute teacher arrives at Yavin High to teach music.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution to Phase One of the RogueRobin by JediFest on [tumblr](http://jedifest.tumblr.com/roguerobin2017). Can't wait to see where this goes!

** Teaching and other Worries **

_Chapter 1_

 

It had been two months to the day. About a week ago, he had started to eat properly again. Things were looking a whole lot better than they had two days after the breakup and definitely better than the moment Nino had walked out the door. Finn hadn’t been particularly sad to see him go, but after six years, he missed having someone around constantly. He had gotten used to having Nino lie next to him, even if they hadn’t touched each other in months. They had moved on from being lovers to being friends and nothing more. A breakup had been the best solution for the both of them.

But it still hurt. Having to admit a failure had never come easy to Finn Rook.

He blinked against the glaring sunlight and wiped his eyes. The school year had just started and he couldn’t wait to dive back into his element and start forgetting about Nino. He slammed the door of his car shut behind him and started walking towards the school’s main building. The students were streaming past him, still chatting loudly about their plans for the weekend and Finn pretended not to hear two girls discussing whose turn it was to pretend to be on her period to get out of P.E.. It was none of his business and Wedge probably knew how to deal with them anyway.

“Hey, Mr Rook!”

Finn turned his head, to see a blonde, curly haired boy with freckles run towards him. He was small. Smaller than most other boys his age and Finn could see three boys he barely ever saw in his classroom looming near a couple of benches. Finn nodded and kept walking in the direction of the main entrance. “What’s up, Robin?” he asked casually. “You’re not dropping out of the Mathletes, are you?”

“No!” Robin looked up at him, his grey eyes wide open. “Why would I?”

Finn nodded towards the boys and he could see one of them drowning a can of Red Bull and crushing it in his hand. Finn frowned at him, but didn’t comment. As long as the guy didn’t litter the school yard with it, there was nothing he could do about it. “You okay?” Finn proceeded to ask.

“Yeah, just fine. See you on Monday!” They had reached the entrance, and Robin, now safely escorted to the building by Finn, rushed inside. Shaking his head, Finn started towards the door again, eyes fixed again on the burly boys, wondering which one of them would actually make it to his class today and whether Robin was afraid of all three of them, or just the stupidest one of the lot.

Next moment, he was thrown to the side and Finn stumbled, his ancient school bag crashing to the ground.

“Whoops! Sorry!”

Finn picked up his bag and felt like someone had hit him over the head with a bat as his eyes fixed on the gorgeous face in front of him. The magnificent brown eyes behind the black-rimmed glasses crinkled slightly at the corners, as the man stretched out his hand. “Hi, didn’t mean to make you drop your stuff.”

Swallowing hard, Finn shook his hand. “It’s fine,” Finn muttered, shaking his hand, feeling the warmth and the roughness of his fingers. He let go quickly.

The guy smiled, revealing two rows of perfect teeth. Finn’s eyes trailed over the stubble on his chin, and only when he heard a girl behind him complain loudly, did he realize that he wasn’t only blocking the door, but was also staring straight at this perfectly perfect stranger.

“Oh… right!” Finn pulled the strap over his shoulder, then pushed through the door, the stranger following him.

“You’re a teacher here?” he heard the man ask and Finn nodded, feeling flustered as he closed his bag for the third time this morning.

“Yep. Finn Rook.” He looked back up again, moving to the side to make way for the passing students. “I teach maths. Can I help you? You looking for someone?”

“I went to school here myself, actually. I’m Poe. Poe Dameron.” That name! Finn nodded, recognizing it.

“You’re Juliette’s husband?” he asked, his heart sinking. So that was that. The guy had probably just come to pick up some of his wife’s things. Juliette Dameron, the music teacher was pregnant and had dropped out all of a sudden, when the doctor had put her on bed rest.

The man shook his head. “Her brother, actually. I’m here to step in for her.”

“Ah!” Finn exclaimed, nodding as a sudden wave of relief washed over him. Cursing himself for being this flustered after only a couple of words, he started moving towards the teacher’s lounge. “You teach music too?”

Poe nodded, pushing up his glasses with his index finger. Only now did Finn realize that he was wearing tight jeans and black leather jacket. Of course he was a music teacher. What else?

“I wanted to move back here anyway, and it doesn’t look like Juliette is going to be teaching again anytime soon.”

“Is she alright?” Finn asked, making sure to walk by his side.

“Yeah. Just… triplets you know?”

“Triplets? Wow! That’s a lot…” Finn hadn’t known that, but to be honest he had never had much to do with Juliette. He bit his lip and took out his key as they approached the door to the teacher’s lounge. “So you, uh, like teaching?” What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he acting like a stupid teenager?!

“Actually I do.” Poe laughed softly, the sound making Finn’s ears grow hot and he was relieved to open the door to the teacher’s lounge and have an excuse to talk to other people as well. This guy must think he was a total idiot!

“Well then… Welcome to Yavin High.” He managed a smile, which the other returned heartily, slapping him on the shoulder.

“Thanks, buddy!”

Finn nodded and watched as Poe strolled inside, heading directly over to Luke Walker, the principal, who was sitting on a desk near the window, talking earnestly to someone on the phone, a mug of coffee in hand. He waved Poe over and Finn dropped unceremoniously into the next available chair, letting his bag slide to the ground.

“You okay?”

Finn threw back his head and wiped his eyes. No, he wasn’t, but Rey really didn’t need to know that right now. He shrugged. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said quietly and turned to face her.

As usual, she was having breakfast here in the teacher’s lounge, holding an half-eaten apple in her hand. “So, you’re coming to the barbecue tonight?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Finn answered, when the door behind him opened again and Wedge Antilles came in, walking backwards and catching a football before it could hit someone inside the teacher’s lounge.

“Yes, Mackenzie, it’s mine now!” Wedge yelled, before the door fell shut.

“Could you stop encouraging that, Wedge?” Luke asked, shaking his head. He had obviously just hung up and was smiling vaguely now. “Can I have your attention, please?”

Finn’s eyes moved instantly over to the man standing beside Luke. To Poe, who was still looking way too handsome in his leather jacket.

“Thank you. This is Poe Dameron, he will be taking over Juliette’s classes for the rest of the school year at least. He went to this school himself and just moved back here from New York. And-“ the ringing of the bell interrupted him, but as usual, Luke, just like everybody else ignored it, “all that’s left for me to say at this point is: welcome back!”

“IS MISS WALKER IN THERE?”

Rey sighed as the deep voice of one of her students ended her father’s speech, cutting the soft clapping coming from the other teachers short. “I have to teach them some manners,” she muttered, taking another bite of her apple, and reaching for her school bag. “See you during break, Finn.”

“Yeah, see you,” Finn didn’t look after her, as she walked out the door, already chastising the student who had shouted for her, before the door had even closed behind her.

He got up with a sigh and forced himself to start thinking about the upcoming lessons. This Poe Dameron guy probably wasn’t even interested in guys.

 

The students were still working, discussing how they were going to present their approach to the problem the next lesson, when the bell rang. Finn was sitting on his desk, watching as the students started packing up, two girls at the back giggling loudly. He got up and nodded. “Good work, everyone,” he said. “We’re going to continue this next week, but we’ll have the presentations then as well, so I want you to be ready by then.”

            “Mr Rook!” A red-haired girl shouted, her eyes gleaming.

            “Natasha?” Finn nodded, walking around his desk and reaching for his bag. “Do you have a question?”

            She shook her head and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Robin rush out the door. Finn had kept an eye out for him since that day he had let Finn escort him into the school building, but nothing seemed to have happened. He might have to talk to a couple of other teachers to make sure the boy wasn’t bullied.

            Natasha’s friend Catrice reached his desk first, her face flushed. “Have you seen the new teacher? Mr Dameron?”

            Raising an eyebrow, Finn looked up. “Excuse me?” he asked, feeling his mouth go dry. “What-“

            “Just asking!” Catrice giggled, putting an arm around her friend’s shoulders. “We saw him talking to you the other day! He’s so cute!”

            Finn forced himself to smile. “And way too old for you,” Finn answered.

            Catrice made to answer, but Natasha slapped her hand on Catrice’s lips, cutting her off. “Not for you, though, right?”

            Finn blinked, then shook his head. “You know, you should really focus on geometry, Natasha,” he managed to get out and as the two girls left the classroom, breaking out into loud giggles outside in the corridor, Finn felt like slamming his head on the table. “I hate students sometimes…” he whispered to the ceiling and closing his eyes for a moment.

            Sitting down behind his desk again, he took out a set of class tests he still had to mark. He preferred doing this sort of work in school rather than at home, where he was all alone anyway. It helped him take his mind off the girls’ comments, and he even managed to forget the substitute teacher he hadn’t spoken to since he had arrived at the school the week before. Of course he had seen him, but so far Finn hadn’t had the courage to address him again. He was too afraid he’d start babbling and prove once again how clumsy with words he actually was.

            After about an hour, he was done and the school had quieted down. A typical Friday afternoon. Schoolbag dangling from his shoulder, he made his way through the empty corridor towards the exit, when he heard something that made him stop in his tracks. Swallowing hard, he turned his head, realizing just now that he was standing next to the half open door to the music room. Someone, and he could very well guess who it must be, was playing the guitar and doing it so well, that Finn felt himself drawn towards the door. It was as if the unfamiliar melody was making him move; as if every fibre in his body wanted him to be closer to that wonderful sound!

            He leaned towards the door and froze, when he heard a voice. A voice singing a song, Finn had never heard before.

            “ _If I had wings, like Noah’s dove, I’d fly the river to the one I love.”_

            Finn couldn’t help but gape open mouthed at the back of the man sitting there on one of the chairs in the deserted classroom, playing the guitar as if there was nothing else in the world but him and his instrument and Finn could do nothing but stand there and watch. And listen. And feel himself being pulled so far away from himself, that he forgot everything around him. He didn’t even realize the strap of his bag slipping off his shoulder until the bag crashed against the door, making it swing wide open.


End file.
